kangaroo

Any of various large herbivorous marsupials of the family Macropodidae of Australia and adjacent islands, having short forelimbs, large hind limbs used for leaping, and a long tapered tail.

An early form of ‘safety’ bicycle which had a large wheel in front and a small one in the rear, the forks being connected by a curved backbone, as in the ordinary ‘high’ bicycle, but with the saddle back of the large wheel.

plural In stock-exchange slang, West Australian mining shares.

To leap as a kangaroo, either literally or figuratively.

To hunt the kangaroo.

To whip with a kangaroo-skin whip-lash.

A large marsupial mammal of Australia, Macropus giganteus; by extension, any herbivorous and saltatorial marsupial of the family Macropodidæ (which see for technical characters).

A kind of chair.

Any one of numerous species of jumping marsupials of the family Macropodidæ. They inhabit Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, They have long and strong hind legs and a large tail, while the fore legs are comparatively short and feeble. The giant kangaroo (Macropus major) is the largest species, sometimes becoming twelve or fourteen feet in total length. The tree kangaroos, belonging to the genus Dendrolagus, live in trees; the rock kangaroos, of the genus Petrogale, inhabit rocky situations; and the brush kangaroos, of the genus Halmaturus, inhabit wooded districts. See wallaby.

the edible fruit of the Tasmanian plant Solanum aviculare.